National Science Foundation
Edward A. Pohl, Melissa Miller , Randall Reynolds, C. Richard Cassady
University of Arkansas
NA
12/31/09
This project creates an IE Challenge for Junior High and High School students with the intent to develop student’s interest in industrial engineering as a career option.
Continuation and improvement of IE Challenge competition bringing middle and high school students
The 2009 IE Challenge was held at Bell Engineering Center on the University of Arkansas campus in the spring of 2009. Senior High teams from Pottsville and Junior High teams from Gravette and Farmington submitted their papers prior to the competition, then demonstrated their product at Bell Engineering on the University of Arkansas Campus. Most teachers felt like they did not have enough time to work with their teams. They also stated that having the competition in May was too close to the end of the year and that graduation ceremonies were a problem for the Saturday competitions in May. After interviewing several teachers, we refined the competition to accommodate the simulation game format, utilizing the Roller Coaster Tycoon II game, and also adjusted the calendar for this year’s competition. The new date for the final competition entry form is April 4, 2010, allowing students to finish prior to benchmark testing and also prior to graduation events. We have also scheduled the kick- off for the competition to begin earlier, with the official announcements taking place in January, 2010. Additional promotion is also being planned, with an emphasis directed toward the technology departments of the area schools, as well as utilizing as many listserv avenues as possible.